If my wife is out of the country for an extended trip, am I required to light Shabbat candles in the house if I am home alone? Does it matter how long she is going to be away? Or that the time difference between her and me is five hours?

The basic reason given for why women usually light is: "they're usually home and in charge of what's going on in the house." But if she's away, the obligation still stands on whomever's home.
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ShalomOct 28 '11 at 0:13

1

But the example given on that Web page is one of a woman in the hospital. She'd not be lighting. Perhaps the halacha would be different if she's lighting where she is. (I'll grant you that the halacha is probably the same, since the man, too, needs k'vod Shabas, shalom bayis, and oneg. But the halacha you quote from that Web page is not a great source for this question IMO.)
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msh210♦Oct 28 '11 at 0:24

i agree that one could read it like that, but I don't think that was the intent. It was first to answer the question and then to go on to that tangent.
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josh waxmanOct 28 '11 at 1:21